Number of daily COVID-19 cases in Germany hits new record of 80,430
January 12, 2022, 5:50 pm

Number of daily COVID-19 cases in Germany hits new record of 80,430

COVID time-Woman wearing mask/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported according to data released by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) that the number of daily COVID-19 cases in Germany hit a new record of 80,430 on Wednesday.

Seventy-two percent of the country's population has been fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to official figures by the RKI and the Ministry of Health (BMG). At least 36.8 million people also received a booster vaccination.

However, 21 million people remain unvaccinated.

According to the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, to facilitate a larger number of booster shots as well as to increase the overall vaccination rate, Germany purchased 5 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine from Romania with the approval of the European Union (EU).

Lauterbach said on Twitter on Wednesday: "This is a significant improvement for booster vaccinations." The additional vaccines would also go to 12- to 17-year-olds, which was particularly important to avoid school closures.

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Germany recently tightened its COVID-19 restrictions again, making face masks mandatory in all schools. However, face-to-face learning would remain a top priority, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Laender (KMK) said when schools opened after the Christmas holidays.

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Karin Prien, president of the KMK, said: "We need to pay even closer attention to the needs of children and young people. This means that we will not close schools until all other options have been exhausted."

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.